Parul Wadhwa weaves a fascinating tale of meeting a stranger in London for our Travel Story writing theme.

Parul, in her own words: Essentially a storyteller who works as a documentarist and has delivered content for key broadcasters around the world. She loves to travel and is always keen to pick up new skills, her latest being mixing cocktails. If you know of a quirky cocktail recipe or the innovative use of salt in them, follow her on twitter@ parwad.

Friendly cherry blossoms. Red buses breathing order at the panic striken Paddington station in the heart of London.

Ticket-check. Phone-check. Umbrella-check. Cash-uncheck.

I checked the whole list in my head again. Panic personified.

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Deboshree Bhattacharjee narrates how she was ‘lost’ in enjoying the moment in this funny story for our April writing theme, Travel Story.

Deboshree, in her own words: Stories delight me and I tell them often. They lurk everywhere, around us and in hidden crannies. I like to look for them and then set them going. When I am not doing that, I am reading and reviewing books, travelling and studying media.

“This is where the Pandavas would take their morning shower!” The man sounded excited. “Then, they threw stones at the mangoes overhead and sat down for a meal.”

I looked at him sceptically; the trees didn’t look all that old. “What about their morning puja? Isn’t there an old Shiva temple near here somewhere?”

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“Not all those who wander are lost,” said JRR Tolkein. Ever felt the irresistible call to get going, NOW? Become a spontaneous traveller! 

By Meena Venkataraman

Some years ago, a chance business trip saw me in Costa Rica. I grabbed it with both hands, but knew very little about this country of exotic rain forests and spewing volcanoes. Days before my trip my camera decided to die on me. Everything being on short notice, I faced this setback rather stoically and on my stopover at Paris, on an impulse spent a really huge sum of money getting an SLR. This was the beginning of my unplanned adventure.

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In the Women’s Web ‘Travel The World With Kids’ series, we talk to mums from all over the globe who are interested in exploring their backyard attractions with their tiny tots! We hope you find them useful, if someday you choose to visit their part of the world. Presented in Q&A format, this one is with Neera from Chicago who blogs about her travel tales at Our Almost Everyday Blog

Chicago, the ‘windy city’ is one of America’s most famous cities. The hub of the Midwest, Chicago has a lot of attractive kid-friendly activities, says Neera. Let’s talk to her!

Hello Neera! Do tell us a little about yourself.

I am a stay at home mom to two adorable kids. Stay at home at first out of no choice but now by my own choice and loving it. We love to wonder, imagine, create, travel and explore and do much more, having a lot of fun in the process, not to mention learn while it’s all fun.

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Vacation time is almost here and so is our monthly writing theme. Share an interesting travel story and get published on Women’s Web!

As You Write It is back this April and the writing theme for this month is “Travel Story”. Write to us about an interesting incident that happened to you on your travels. Did you meet someone intriguing? Did you discover something unexpected? Did you try out something amazing? Tell us your travel story!

Where to send: Send in your story to feedback@womensweb.in with ‘Travel Story’ in the subject line, and your story as a word/txt attachment. Do include the name we should use if we publish it, and a brief introduction to yourself (2-3 lines) in the mail.

By when: Please send in your stories by Apr 15th, i.e. this Sunday. The 5 best stories will be published on Women’s Web the following week, i.e. Apr 16th onwards.

Rules:

- The material should be previously unpublished elsewhere. (Copyright stays with you and you’re free to subsequently publish it elsewhere).

- Keep it between 250 and 600 words.

GOODIES!

Each entry chosen for publishing on Women’s Web gets a diary/writing pad made of handmade paper courtesy prishth. prishth focuses on paper products and has also forayed into jewellery made with paper. The cloth material that has been used as the cover of the diaries gets its colours from natural dyes.

In the Women’s Web ‘Travel The World With Kids’ series, we talk to mums from all over the globe who are interested in exploring their backyard attractions with their tiny tots! We hope you find them useful, if someday you choose to visit their part of the world. Presented in Q&A format, this one is with Jo-Lynne Shane from Philadelphia, the blogger behind the award-winning lifestyle blog Musings of a Housewife.

Philadelphia has earned the epithet “Birthplace of America”. Jo-Lynne takes us through the kid-friendly places in Philly!

Hello Jo-Lynne! Tell us something about yourself.

I am a brand ambassador, freelance writer, and connector of people. I am also a founder of the Philly Social Media Moms, a vibrant networking group.

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In The Women’s Web ‘Travel The World With Kids’ series, we talk to mums from all over the globe who are interested in exploring their backyard attractions with their tiny tots! We hope you find them useful, if someday you choose to visit their part of the world. Presented in Q&A format, this one is with Tiffany from Frankfurt, who blogs at No Ordinary Homestead about a whole range of things from food and books to travel and expat life in Germany.

The financial and business centre of Germany, Tiffany tells us that Frankfurt has more to it than just being the industrial hub of Europe. This is a city which gives much importance to arts and history as well as to nature and wildlife. Let’s hear Tiffany talk about kid-friendly activities in Frankfurt.

Guten Tag Tiffany! We’d love to know more about you. Do tell us!

Hi! I’m originally from Texas, in my early-30’s and I’ve been blogging for over 5 years. About 10 years ago, my husband and I (recent college graduates) decided to move to Germany from Miami, Florida. My husband was offered a job in Frankfurt and what we thought would be a quick 2-3 year “experience” quickly transitioned into us buying an old farmhouse, learning how to renovate it ourselves, adding a daughter and a dog to our family and quite a few adventures along the way.

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Yokoo knits, sews, styles, photographs, edits her films, models and promotes her work. A look at her inspiring business.

By Kavita Rayirath

Making things by hand is revealing. It involves the body and mind, is intimate and expresses a personal way of seeing and doing. The maker thus is part of what is being made. Handmade Women is a series of interviews that shares words and thoughts of creative women around the world, who have chosen to craft their business by hand.

Yokoo lives in Atlanta, and gave up her day job to pursue her love for knitting. She spends hours making big chunky knitwear with personality. She recently started Mother, a women’s wear line, sewn by her. Yokoo’s Flickr page is where she has been sharing her work for many years now. She immerses herself in every aspect of the business. Her involvement and attention to detail shines through in her work. Her mind and thoughts are quirky and interesting and she’s built one of the most successful handmade businesses on Etsy. Sharing her thoughts:

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In The Women’s Web ‘Travel The World With Kids’ series, we talk to mums from all over the globe who are interested in exploring their backyard attractions with their tiny tots! We hope you find them useful, if someday you choose to visit their part of the world. Presented in Q&A format, this one is with Subha from Zurich, who blogs about her adventures at Boo’s Baby Talk.

Ah Switzerland! A favourite among Indian cinema makers as well as romantic honeymooners, the very mention strikes up images of cozy cabins tucked into snow clad mountains! Is the largest city of Switzerland, Zurich kid-friendly? Over to Subha!

Hello Subha! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I live with my husband and two daughters (aged 6 and 3) in Zurich, Switzerland. We moved to Zurich from Bangalore 5 years ago. Although it was tough initially to settle down here due to the language issues, we started loving it here. Who wouldn’t fall in love with this gorgeous place with its snow peaked mountains, crystal clear lakes, cheese and chocolates? But the most endearing thing about Zurich is how there is so much to do here with kids!

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In the Women’s Web ‘Travel The World With Kids’ series, we talk to mums from all over the globe who are interested in exploring their backyard attractions with their tiny tots! We hope you find them useful, if someday you choose to visit their part of the world. Though usually in Q&A format, this time Shalini Frøiland of A Wing And A Prayer, has given free rein to her creative juices and provided us with some wonderful suggestions on kid-friendly things to do in Norway! Over to Shalini!

I have a confession to make. Normally, when my husband suggests an outing with our kids in a friendly tone, my first instinct is to cower in the corner of my sofa, clutching my tea cup in terror. If pushed, I may even whine, “MUST I?” Don’t get me wrong. I love my boys, but going out with two kids with a 4 year age gap between them, presents certain challenges. I find myself staring longingly at random adults and thinking, “I’d take YOU out. You probably wouldn’t subject me to your tantrums, make faces at food and whine that your feet hurt.”

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